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Egypt: High-profile paternity case is not unique

Source:

The Civil Monitor for Human Rights Association

Although this case in particular has received much attention in the Egyptian press and abroad, it is important to note that it is not at all unique. In fact, there are roughly 14,000 similar paternity suits currently being processed by the courts.

On 26 January, 2006 the Egyptian courts rejected the case of Hind El Hinnawy to prove the paternity of her daughter Leena, despite the defendant having previously acknowledged the relationship between him and the girl's mother, and having publicly admitted that he may be the father.

As a result of his refusal to submit to a DNA test or to legally recognize his daughter, she will be labeled an illegitimate child and, without a legal birth certificate, will not officially exist.

In this case, the defendant has declared that even should a DNA test prove that he is the father, he would not recognize the child legally, because he was not formally married to the mother at the time. Because of this unconscionable act, Hind and Leena now face censorship from society and discrimination under the law.

Although this case in particular has received much attention in the Egyptian press and abroad, it is important to note that it is not at all unique. In fact, there are roughly 14,000 similar paternity suits currently being processed by the courts. This number does not include the illegitimate children who are abandoned and grow up in orphanages or on the street. Their numbers are difficult to count, but are estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

The Civil Monitor for Human Rights calls for an amendment to the law which presently allows fathers to ignore their responsibilities and to deny their own children. Paternity may be proved using DNA testing, and this use of technology must be stipulated in the law. In addition, in the case of scientific proof, the fathers must legally recognize their children. Egypt has signed and ratified the international agreement on the Rights of the Child, and its laws must reflect the articles of this agreement.